Dance with the Devil: Chapter 48

Todd rolled into the office of Dr. Ewen Keenan the next morning.  “I think may need another session, like now,” he said.

The psychiatrist looked up at him and offered a genial smile.  “What seems to be the problem, Mr. Manning.”

Todd took a deep breath, than launched into a description of whatever it was that happened the night before.  Ewen listened, made notes and asked a question here and there.  When he finished, Todd asked, “So is this another symptom of the PTSD?”

Ewen shrugged his shoulders.  “It’s possible.  You were taken from your family for eight years, beaten, tortured.  When you finally escaped, you came home to find you had been replaced within your family, as a father, husband, brother.  That would have some effect on anyone.  Tell me, what was your reaction when you first met him and when you first found out your were twins?”

Todd thought back to the night at the Banner, when he encounter the other man in his office after he had taken Sam.  “I wanted to know who he was and why he had taken my life.  He laughed at me and said that it had always been his.  When we next encountered each other, it was in front of my family, Blair, Tea, the kids.  It was more of the same back and forth.  And the day we found out we were twins, neither of us really believed it.  The story we were told was almost freakish.  It sounded like something out of a horror movie.”

“Who told you the truth?  What was their reason for withholding it in the first place?” the doctor asked.

“Our mother was under arrest and brought to my sister Viki’s home.  There, Irene Manning told us the whole sick truth, about how she had hidden Victor all his life and how she had planned this for years,” Todd told him.

Ewen got up from his desk and walked around to the front.  “Did you know your mother at any point before that day at your sister’s house?”

“I never met her in person.  She supposedly died when I would have been eight.  But, she left behind a diary and whatever knowledge I had of her, I got it from that,” Todd smiled at the memories of reading Irene’s diary for the first time.  “From reading it, she sounded like a young woman who was put in a terrible position by someone who was more powerful then her and that forced her to make decisions that she hated making.  She said she wanted to keep me, but she would have never been able to support me and my sister Tina.”

“I spoke to your sister Viki about the discovery about your paternity.  When you found out you were the son of Victor Lord, what was your reaction?” Ewen asked next.

“Well, shock.  It’s not every day you find out your father was a billionaire media mogul who was also a vicious pedophile, not that I knew that part at the time,” Todd said.

“When did you find that out, Mr. Manning?”

Todd flashed back to the foyer of Llanfair, Viki on the stairs, wigging out on him after he questioned her again about their father.  He must have been out of it for a few minutes himself because he heard Dr. Keenan call him back.  “What?” he asked, momentarily stunned.  “Right, finding out about Victor Senior.”  He took a deep breath.  “It was the night before Blair and I were getting remarried.  I went to tell my family about the wedding that would the next day.  Tina wanted me to not go through with it, but Viki offered me best wishes.  Then I asked her, I insisted she tell me about our father.  I wanted to know what kind of man he really was, not that story the book told.  She didn’t want to, she begged me not to make her answer the question.  But I pushed and pushed and she...lost it.  One of her alters came out.  I managed to get her back and then she told me.  She told me he had raped her since the time she was young.”  Todd looked up at the doctor again.  “I know what your next question is going to be.  How did that make me feel?  I realized, I was my father’s son.  I was a rapist, he was a pedophile.  Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, eh doc?”

“I won’t say that.  Your past crimes, while maybe not expunged, have been for the most part overlooked by many, including and especially your family.  You have a woman you love and children who clearly adore you.  I’ve done my research on Victor Lord.  He was at least controlling of those around him, his eldest daughter loathes the very thought of him, as so you, your sister Tina, while unaffected by his history, doesn’t seem to give him much thought.  You have lived under his shadow for as long as you’ve known about him.  I suspect your brother, in taking on your life for eight years, has been too.”

“Then what did my dream, nightmare, hallucination mean?”

“Well, from what you described, it seems as though you were working through some of your feeling…guilt, remorse.  Now, if it was you communicating with your brother, I can’t really say.  From a professional standpoint, I think you are finally allowing yourself to work through the issues in your life.”

Todd left the doctor’s office feeling better about getting some things off his chest, but still uneasy about his experience the previous night.  As he made his way to the nurse’s station, he was surprised to see Tina there.  When she caught sight of him, she came over.  “I’m glad I found you here,” she said as she walked behind him and began pushing his chair to the elevator.

“Whoa, what the hell are you doing?” he asked, trying to stop her.

“We have a lunch date,” she stated.

“Sorry, but we have not nor ever will have a lunch date.  I’m libel to shoved it down your throat,” he remarked.

“We are having lunch at the Quartermaine Estate with Edward Quartermaine himself,” Tina told him as she pushed him in.  As the door closed, she went to face him.  “Mr. Quartermaine wants to meet with the both of us, so shut up and let’s get going.”

When they arrived at the mansion, the maid, Alice, let them in and showed them to the living room.  Edward was there, at the table.  He looked up and said, “Mr. Manning, Mrs. Roberts, it’s a pleasure to meet with you personally.  Before we begin, this is for you, Mr. Manning,” Edward said as he handed over an envelope. 

Todd opened it and read over the papers.  It was an affidavit stating that Todd Manning alone was entitled to the trust fund left by Victor Lord.  “Starr told me about this.  Thank you,” he offered.

“I still don’t see why you would need it, as your brother is dead, but Starr seemed insistent on it,” Edward told him.  He took a step back to look at the two of them.  “You are the very image of your mother, dear.  I still remember that holiday we spent together, before your mother had the boys.  You were so excited for Christmas morning you wanted to wait up all night for Santa.”

“Oh, Mr. Quartermaine, I am so sorry I didn’t recognize you the night you had us all over.  I can’t explain it, but when my daughter Sarah was showing us the pictures, suddenly I remembered,” Tina said to him. 

“My dear, you were very young when I knew you.  I didn’t expect you to remember me,” Edward assured her.  He then turned to Todd.  “You know, I almost regret that you father never lived to see the business success you became.  Most people who come into the fortune you inherited would have blown it on a frivolous lifestyle.  You followed your father’s career path, taking a struggling paper and turning it into a leading tabloid.  The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!” he said too enthusiastically.  Todd looked at the old man in disgust and made a beeline for the patio.  Edward was surprised by his reaction and turned to Tina.  “Was it something I said?”

Outside, Todd took a deep breath of the late summer air.  “‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’  Thank you for reminding me,” he said out loud.  All his life, he had tried to run away from the legacy of Victor Lord.  He had been convince that the whole family was cursed and wanted his children not to be judged as the grandchildren of the old man.  Now, here he was, in a new town, still in the shadow cast by his father. 

Edward came out to of the living room with Tina trailing.  “I am sorry, I certainly didn’t mean…”

“Yeah, but you are right.  I am like the old man, professionally and personally,”  Todd admitted.  “You know, I can still walk around Llanview--well, not walk, but you know--hang around and they still see me as the rapist.  I have always been afraid that that would rear its head again…” His voice just trailed off.

“Todd, how many times do Viki and Blair have to reassure you of that,” Tina said as she sat in a chair.  “Viki told me about the day at Victor’s when John read the initial DNA results and you found out about him and Marty, about how disgusted you were by that fact.  If that incident can evoke that depth of feeling from you all these years later, that should be your reassurance.”

Todd gave her a strange look.  “Are you turning into Viki?  Because, quite frankly, there is only one Viki allowed in this family and you are so far out of the realm of possibility for filling that vacancy when it come up, it’s not even funny.  Jessica is more the heiress to the title of family wisdom giver then you will ever be,” he informed her mockingly. 

Tina narrowed her eyes at him as Edward chuckled,  “You two are rather reminding me of Alan and Tracy right now.  You two can get on each other nerves but you do love each other, that I can see.”

Tina smiled, but Todd replied in a stage whisper “Don’t tell her that,” as he chucked a thumb at his sister. 

They returned to the living room as Edward continued.  “Is there anything specific you would like to know about the time your mother stayed with us that you don’t already know?”

“Uh, well,  Sarah said something about your son and our mother.  What was the story with that?” Tina asked.

Edward got lost in a memory as he explained.  “My son Alan had finished medical school and when he met her I think he was smitten with her.  He thought you were the cutest thing and if things had worked out differently, I was sure he would marry her.  But, Victor stepped in and it fell apart, though not before Alan laid into him.  Victor was terrible to Irene and Alan nearly punched the man.”

“I have a question.  Did you ever meet Peter Manning?” Todd spoke up.

“He and his wife, Barbara I believe, came to the hospital to collect you.  She was a lovely woman who was cooing over you the minute she held you.  Peter…Peter was rather cold and aloof.  He was discussing the arrangements with Victor more than he was paying attention to you.  It was something Alan had made a few remarks to me about.  He even tried to talk your mother out of the who idea, but she…she lost the will to fight it, especially after she saw how much Peter’s wife fell in love with you,” Edward told him.  “What ever happened to them?  Did they ever see the man you became?”

Tina looked at Todd and took his hand.  Even though they were never close, she knew from talking to Viki that Peter was still a scar on Todd as much as the one he wore on his cheek.  Todd looked down at their intertwined hands and actually appreciated her being there.  “Peter and Bitsy, Barbara, they split up when I was nine.  He beat her, she turned to booze, it was a mess.  He kept custody, probably because of the trust fund Victor had set up and I never saw her again.  She finally died when I was fourteen.  As for Peter, once I was pardoned for the rape, he was done with me and died of a heart attack later that year.  It was on his deathbed that he told me I was adopted and well….you can figure out the rest.”  Todd released Tina’s hand and began looking around the room.  “Look, Mr. Quartermaine, as nice as you have been, I’m a busy man,” he said rather politely.  “I need to get back to work.”

Edward could tell that the younger man had been uncomfortable since his comment about Victor Lord.  “I can have me driver take you wherever you need to go, if you would like.”

Todd nodded and left his sister with the Quartermaine patriarch.  He was driven next door and when he arrived back, went into the study.  The pictures that had been given to him were on the desk.   As he stared at him he tried to imagine for a minute what his life would have been like, if Victor Lord had not interfered.

Meanwhile, a door was unlocked and inside stepped two women.  One, dressed elegantly, walked over to a man on a bed.  Looking over him a minute, she returned to the door where her associate remained.  “What have you done with him?  He is incoherent and barely conscious!” she exclaimed. Then, she realized something.  “You gave him too much.  He may not survive and if he doesn’t, years of planning will fall part.”  The woman looked back at the bed.  “Dump him somewhere.  We need dispose of any evidence of this part of the plan.”  The other woman left and the speaker returned to the bed.  “This whole plot has been a fool’s errand since Irene was shot by her son.  I should have especially pulled the plug on it after your brother walked on the murder charges,  Oh well.  My only hope is that you die before anyone finds you.  And, we still have you wife and son.  I am certain I can find some use for them in the long run,” she said before she closed and locked the door.



*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Your comments are 'payment' for the work of the authors. Our writers like to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment when you read.